Alleged N1.4bn Katsina airport fraud: HoSF Enitan, director not on trial — EFCC witness

The 12th prosecution witness (PW12) in the ongoing trial of the immediate past Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Abubakar Sirika, and three others, on Tuesday admitted before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr Abel Enitan, was not charged in court over any wrongdoing in the award of the contract for the apron expansion at Katsina Airport.

Sirika is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on behalf of the Federal Government, before Justice Sylvanus Oriji, sitting in Maitama, Abuja. He is standing trial alongside his daughter, Fatima; his son-in-law, Hamman Jalal Sule; and a company purportedly owned by the couple, Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, on a six-count charge bordering on abuse of office and contract fraud involving ₦2.8 billion.

The former minister was alleged to have abused his office to confer an unfair advantage on Al Buraq Global Investment Limited by using his position to influence the award of a contract for the apron extension worth ₦1,498,300,750, among other alleged offences.

According to the EFCC, the alleged offences contravene Sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000; Section 17(b) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004; and Section 315 of the Penal Code Act, Cap. 532, Laws of the FCT, and are punishable under the relevant provisions.

Sirika and his co-defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them by the EFCC.

At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, PW12 Christopher Odofin, an EFCC investigator, admitted during cross-examination by counsel for Fatima Hadi Sirika, Efut Okoi, that Enitan, who was the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Aviation and chairman of the ministry’s ministerial tenders board at the time the contract was awarded, was not on trial over the contentious contract.

Odofin also admitted that the ministry’s Director of Procurement, Musa Odiniya, was not being prosecuted in connection with the contract.

According to him, “The then permanent secretary of Ministry of Aviation, Mr Abel Enitan, is not standing trial for any wrongdoings in respect of the Katsina Airport. Also, the Director, Procurement of the ministry, Musa Odiniya, is not on trial in any court.”

The PW12 confirmed to the court that the second defendant was a staff member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), which, he said, was wholly owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria but operated as a limited liability company.

According to the witness, the EFCC did not receive any petitions against Fatima, adding that the NNPCL had also not filed any petitions against her.

During cross-examination by counsel for the third defendant, P.A. Adewuyi, Odofin told the court that Hamman Jalal Sule was a staff member of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

He said the NUPRC was not an agency under the Ministry of Aviation, adding that Exhibits 13 and 14, earlier tendered by the prosecution, did not emanate from the commission but from the aviation ministry.

He added that the signatory to the two documents was not answerable to the third defendant.

Answering another question, the PW12 told the court that there was no land available for the execution of the apron expansion contract awarded to the fourth defendant, Al Buraq Global Investment Limited.

He added that he could not say whether the fact that the contract had not been rescinded meant it was not illegal.

The prosecution witness, however, denied knowing that the contentious contract had been re-awarded to Al Buraq by the Ministry of Aviation on 17 March 2025.

“I am not aware that the Ministry of Aviation re-awarded the contract for the expansion of the apron at the Katsina Airport to Al Buraq on 17th March, 2025,” Odofin told the court.

Following an application for adjournment by counsel for Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, Michael Numa, SAN, Justice Oriji adjourned the case until 28 October for the continuation of the cross-examination of PW12.